Playing Through Pain

By Robert Nishihara

They are linked to one another forever through the game of baseball.  However, they are more strongly linked by the unique connection that exists between father and son.

So, when Bobby Bonds somehow willed his body, ravaged by a myriad of debilitating ailments, to make what would be his final trek to Pac Bell Park to watch his son Barry play a home game against the mighty Atlanta Braves, it was not about a father watching his son play a baseball game but rather simply a father needing to be near his son and knowing that the son needed to be near his father just as badly.

And in the final days of Bobby Bonds' life, the two men, thankfully, were able to be together.  Sensing the dire nature of his father's condition, nearly a week before Bobby's final trip to the ballpark, Barry Bonds requested and was granted time away from his baseball team to be with his father.

However, in Barry's absence, his teammates struggled.  The San Francisco Giants dropped five games in a row on a miserable East Coast road trip and made a weary return home, their once invincible double-digit lead in the NL West reduced by four full games.  And waiting for the team in San Francisco were the Atlanta Braves, the team with the best record in the Major Leagues.

In need of a lift and a change in fortunes, the Giants needed their resident superstar back on the baseball field.  To his credit, Barry Bonds decided to rejoin the team despite his personal pain and when called upon to provide that lift and change in fortune, he delivered in most dramatic fashion.

On his first night back, the most feared hitter on the planet hit a 10th inning, game-winning home run into the San Francisco Bay.  Two nights later, he repeated the feat by driving another 10th inning pitch into the stands and securing a three-game sweep of Atlanta.

But there was anger and frustration and pain in those two home run swings despite the beauty they produced.  And the two towering, majestic drives were, indeed, beautiful to watch, one landing in the chilly waters of McCovey Cove and the other in a throng of joyous fans in the centerfield bleachers, both producing instant victory for the home team.

But as Barry rounded the bases after each dramatic homer, each moment seemed less about baseball and pennant races and more about a son wanting to do something to ease the pain of his dying father.  And with the ferocity that he sent those home run blasts careening into the San Francisco night, it's easy to imagine that a part of Bonds, baseball's current slugging king, secretly hoped that if he could just hit a ball far enough or round the bases enough times he could somehow rescue his father. 

And in that way, those two game-winning home runs Barry Bonds hit against the Atlanta Braves were among the most electrifying and heartbreaking moments I have ever seen on a baseball diamond.

Two days after the second of Barry's game-winning homers, Bobby Bonds finally lost his courageous battle with the cruel variety of illnesses that had taken so much from him.

At the very least, I hope that Bobby's passing reinvigorates his legacy and that the collective memories we, as baseball fans, have of him can be more fully appreciated than they were previously.

And when his son returns again to his team, his will be a pain that supercedes the baseball diamond.  I can only hope that the idea of a son grieving for his father has some resonance with fans and that they will appreciate a player playing through obvious pain.

[Author's Note: Bobby Bonds was my favorite player when I first discovered baseball.  When he passed away, a piece of my childhood went with him.  Rest in Peace, Bobby, and thank you for all of those wonderful childhood baseball memories and the unbreakable connection with the game that they helped to build for me.]